Print still matters – Trade show catalog bars patent

Description

Abstract: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office won’t consider an invention novel enough to qualify for a patent if a publicly available printed publication “anticipated” it. With a recent ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which hears all appeals concerning patents) provided some guidance on how it determines whether a publication was publicly available on the relevant date. This article reviews the case and the court’s opinion and includes a short sidebar highlighting the effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, mandating that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board must institute inter partes review either on all of the claims a petitioner has challenged or none of them. Nobel Biocare Svcs. AG v. Instradent USA, Inc., No. 17-2256, Sept. 13, 2018, Fed. Cir. SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, No. 16–969, April 24, 2018, S.Ct.